Nashua Board to interview final three assistant superintendent candidates

By BENJAMIN C. KLEINUnion Leader CorrespondentApril 01. 2013 8:52PMNASHUA - With the first wave of interviews completed, Superintendent Mark Conrad will present the final three candidates to replace retiring Assistant Superintendent Althea Sheaff to the Board of Education on Wednesday.

Conrad announced on Monday that the three finalists are Janet Valeri, principal at the Ledge Street School, Karen Crebase, assistant principal at Main Dunstable Elementary School, and Daniel LeGallo, principal of Lamprey River Elementary School in Raymond.

"I think we have three strong candidates or we wouldn't be willing to bring them forward. I am pleased with how the first round of interviews went, and I am looking forward to going on with process," Conrad said.

Conrad said the Board of Education would interview the three in a meeting that will be televised and available for the public to attend. Conrad added that ideally the position would be filled before April vacation but that a specific date has not been set.

Conrad said the new assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction will have two main responsibilities. The first, he said, is supervision of the district's 12 elementary schools and their principals, and the second will be overseeing curriculum and professional development.

Other large aspects of the job, Conrad said, include overseeing the district's five Title I elementary schools and special education in the district.

The interviews will start at 6:30 p.m., and each candidate will spend roughly 45 minutes before the board.

Valeri started off her academic career as a teacher in the Mt. Pleasant Elementary School before going back to Rivier College 11 years after her career began to become certified as a school principal. Shortly after completing that program, she went back to Rivier for another year to become certified as a superintendent.

Crebase received an advanced degree in education from Harvard University and began her career working in an elementary school in Houston, Texas. That job was part of the Teach For America program, where recent college graduates commit to teach at least two years in under-resourced urban and rural public school districts around the country.

Crebase began her career in the district in 1996 as an assistant principal at Mount Pleasant and Broad Street Schools and has also worked as a principal at Amherst Street Elementary School.

LeGallo, the sole district outsider being considered for the position, is still familiar with the city because he received multiple degrees and certifications from Rivier.

He has been principal at Lamprey River Elementary School for the last seven years and started his career as a middle-school teacher before working his way up through the administrative ranks.

With Sheaff making $105,070 in her final year, Conrad said he was unsure if her replacement would make more or less. He said the new assistant superintendent's salary would be determined by the individual's credentials and what other assistant superintendents make around the state.